Basic American Foods negotiating purchase of Nonpareil

Blackfoot-based Nonpareil Farms is preparing to sell its business to Basic American Foods.

Due diligence into a letter of intent for the sale is currently under way. Negotiation of the various agreements involved in the transaction is expected to take eight to 10 weeks before the sale is closed.

In a joint news release, the companies said the sale would allow Nonpareil to focus its efforts on its rapidly growing fresh produce brand.Nonpareil Farms will supply Basic American Foods with potatoes for its dehydrated potato products.

Family owned and operated, Nonpareil has been manufacturing and supplying potato products to the food industry since 1946.The company was established in New York City in as Idaho Potato Packers.It began packing and marketing Betty Crocker Fresh Potatoes to stores nationwide in 2011.

Basic American Foods has been family owned and operated since 1933. It produces a wide range of value-added products. Its principal brands include Potato Pearls, Golden Grill, Santiago and Idaho Spuds. Basic American Foods is headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif. The company was founded by Jack Hume as a Blackfoot dehydration plant. In the 1950s, it was credited with creating the first instant potato product that could be rehydrated with boiling water.

Basic American Foods operates a manufacturing plant in Rexburg with support facilities in Shelley, Idaho, and Moses Lake, Wash.Its central distribution facility is in Idaho Falls.